Acorn Productions Unveils New Plans For Children's Theater Ensemble

Acorn Productions announces that they will be producing a season of 3 children's plays beginning this February in the company's new Acorn Studio Theater at the Dana Warp Mill in Westbrook. The plays will be mounted by the new "Fairy Tale Players," a group consisting of younger actors who are past and present students at the Acorn Acting Academy, joined by a handful of local adult professional actors who will serve as mentors to each cast. This initial season is made possible through a generous grant from the Rines/Thompson Fund administered by the Maine Community Foundation. The Fairy Tale Players is co-directed by Acorn faculty members Keith Anctil, Michael Levine, and Stephanie Ross, each of whom will direct one of the productions in the company's inaugural season. Each play will be an adaptation of a classic fairy tale, 2 from The Brothers Grimm and a Greek fairy tale collected by the Austrian J.G. von Hahn in 1864. Th e productions will each be presented 4 times over two weekends, with a Friday evening and Saturday morning performance. Tickets are $5 adults and $3 kids twelve and under. More information is available by contacting Acorn Productions at www.acorn-productions.org or 854-0065.

"We are delighted to be able to offer these productions to the Westbrook community," said Producing Director Michael Levine, "It has long been a goal of ours to allow our younger students the chance to work with professional actors in a fully staged production, and we thank the Rines/Thompson Fund for making this dream a reality." The Acorn Studio Theater is a 40-seat black box space the company opened in September to allow for a more comprehensive training program at the Acorn Acting Academy, a theater school offering classes for adults and kids. The space has already hosted 3 productions, including Acorn's recent "Best of Fest: Volume I," in addition to dramatic readings, improv comedy nights, and student showcases. Acorn Productions is a 501(c)3 organization founded in 1998, and dedicated to increasing awareness of and participation in the performing arts by all members of the community.

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